By ROSEMARY ONUOHA
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, said it has given birth to the insurance voice on the fiscal and economic policies of government which had not been heard for a very long time.

President of the Institute, Mr. Wole Adetimehin, who made the assertion, said that in the past the insurance sector has played little or no role in affecting or influencing economic activities, however, the CIIN is working to change that trend.

Adetimehin said “We constituted a formidable industry team which developed in-puts into the 2012 National budgets which was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on the 16th of April, 2012. It was for us a very useful exercise and a departure from the past.

Based on the success of the budget-input-exercise, the team will soon meet to analyse the 2012 budget, bringing to the front burners the opportunities for economic growth and in  particular, the expectations from the insurance sector.

We will be able to articulate these views in a pamphlet which will be circulated. By this effort, we have been able to give birth to the insurance voice on the fiscal and economic policies of government which had not been heard for a very long time.”

Adetimehin further stated that the institute organised the 2012 business outlook seminar which provided a veritable platform for appraising the challenges of the economic policies of government in 2012 which include matching the fast growing population of the country presently estimated at 167 million with economic empowerment and poverty alleviation through employment creation; stimulating economic growth through the provision of improved infrastructure; stable electric supply and efficient public utilities; as well as revamping the real sector of the economy and diversifying from an oil dominated to a balanced economy.

Others are encouraging increased flow of foreign direct investment into the country to tap into the abundant natural and human resources by providing an enabling environment with emphasis on internal security.

The CIIN president said that the business outlook seminar expectedly periscoped the 2012 national budget as presented by the president to the national assembly and looked at the fiscal and monetary policy thrusts of government and how they would affect the insurance industry.

Other national economic issues examined, according to him, included deregulation of the downstream oil sector of the economy, liberalisation of the power sector; challenges of a cash-less economy on the insurance industry and the performance of the insurance industry in 2011.